Genetic and genomic approaches for improving biofuel production from maize

Grasses, which are currently at the basis of cattle feeding, will, in the near future, be a major source of cell wall carbohydrates for sustainable biofuel production. The association of lignins with other matrix components, together with linkages between cell wall carbohydrates, greatly influences cell wall properties, including the degradability of structural polysaccharides by micro-organisms in animal rumen or industrial fermenters. The improvement in biofuel production from plants is based on the understanding of the cell wall composition and assembly, and on the discovery of genetic and genomic mechanisms involved in each component biosynthesis and their depositions in each lignified tissue. While nearly 40 QTL have been shown for lignin content, only seven locations appeared of greater importance in investigated genetic resources. Expression studies highlighted that several genes in the lignin pathway are less expressed in lines with higher cell wall degradability. However, only a few lignin pathway genes mapped in QTL positions, and the fully relevant candidates might be genes involved in regulation of lignin pathway genes, or in regulation of lignified tissue assembly.